Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light sheet illumination microscope that irradiates a specimen with a sheet-shaped illumination beam, and a light sheet illumination method.
Description of the Related Art
In the field of fluorescence microscopy, a technology for irradiating a specimen with a laser beam from a direction perpendicular to the optical axis of a detection optical system so as to acquire a three-dimensional image having a high resolution is known. Such a technology is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-215644 and International Publication Pamphlet No. WO 2011/120629.
FIG. 1 of Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-215644 discloses the technology for irradiating a sample with a light strip formed by a cylindrical lens to irradiate the sample with a planar light, rotating the sample, and acquiring a three-dimensional image. Further, FIG. 7 discloses the technology for relatively moving an illumination light path with respect to a sample by beam deflection units, scanning the sample with a linear light formed by a lens that is rotationally symmetric with respect to an illumination-axis line, and acquiring an image.
FIG. 2 of International Publication Pamphlet No. WO 2011/120629 discloses the technology for shifting, by a scanner, a line focus of the excitation light generated by focusing optics on a sample in a direction that is perpendicular to a beam direction. The line focus illustrated in FIG. 2 of International Publication Pamphlet No. WO 2011/120629 is formed along the beam direction.